Wednesday, August 9, 2017

Lost In The Bluster, Another Trump Betrayal

Lost in yesterday's escalation in the overheated rhetoric about the North Korea situation was another betrayal of elements of his base by neo-fascist sociopath Donald "Rump" Trump. Defying his own opioid commission's recommendations to declare a "national emergency," Rump announced that he was embracing a predominantly "law and order" approach to the growing problem: arrests, convictions and incarceration, along with increased interdiction along the Mexican border. From the article:

"The White House's Commission on Combating Drug Addiction and the Opioid Crisis last week had recommended the emergency declaration, saying it would allow the federal government to more quickly free up federal funds to expand access to substance-abuse treatments — specifically medication-assisted treatment."

Experts have long recommended education and treatment, combined with medication, as the preferred solution for combating the epidemic.

The opioid epidemic is especially pronounced among young working class whites in states that Rump carried by significant margins, such as West Virginia and Kentucky, as well as economically struggling regions of other states like Ohio and Pennsylvania. During the fight over the Affordable Care Act, Rethuglican senators from two of those states, Shelly Moore Capito (WV) and Rob Portman (OH) pressed for opioid treatment funding as a price for their vote for repeal. Also, Trumpcare would have slashed Medicaid funds, which are used for opioid addiction treatment.

It wasn't the first betrayal of his "MAGA" base (see: Carrier jobs lost) and it won't be the last from Rump.